Christmas 2009

Christmas was fabulous--as usual. The kids are so fun and so excited, and apparently they have been very good. The whole family got a Wii from Santa.
Annie with her pink guitar. She is soooo into music and instruments.
Thys got a camera because we knew Anna was getting one later in the day from her cousin--trouble if they don't both have one. You parents understand, I'm sure.
Better than the camera and the Wii, was the little jet that Santa picked up for a couple of dollars and threw in Thys's stocking. He hasn't put it down in three days!
Santa also left Thys some too-big Spiderman underwear, hoping to instill the desire to wear them, perhaps, on a regular basis. Didn't work. He thinks they are shorts--and cool ones at that. In fact, talk about comfy--he wore them all day--even to Christmas dinner at grandma's. Dad put him in the car before I could get a hold of him. . . Here is his Wii action shot.And little Soph--she likes the Wii too. Lucky for her, because that's what she got from Santa--just like the rest of us. She did get some rubber duckies for the tub, but these days I don't think it's wise to post pictures of your kids naked in the tub, even if they are cute as can be! So just know Soph loves her duckies. She can even say "duck" according to Mel, and we have all heard her quack like a duck several times. It is quite a quack/grunt/scream from such a little girl.

More Holiday Entertainment

Becky's shows are always good entertainment. If you think Thys and Anna's outfits are entertaining, you should have seen Becky in her red union suit with a jingle-bell belt and full Santa beard and hat. She is a nut, and we love her and what she does for the kids. They sang so cute!

Sophie lucked out this year--no elf costume, but watch out next year, Soph!

Sophie and Anna dressed up for church in Christmas attire. Thys didn't dress up, if you are wondering where he is, nor did he want his picture taken. I've given up on some things--they aren't worth the fight.


Christmas Eve. As you can see, Sophie is the only one I dressed. Thys is into "comfy" and always wants pajamas, and Anna. . .well, she wears what she wants most days--including Christmas Eve. We were just lucky to get us all out the door to grandma's before it was time for bed!


Making cookies for Santa
These are the cookies Santa was hoping for. I have been wanting to try "royal icing," you know the kind the bakeries use, so I finally did it. Not bad for a first try. . .
These are the cookies Santa got--he especially loved the black star decorated by Thys (see far right of picture)

Traditions!

We love traditions, and the kid make sure we keep them. The Sinter Klaas, put up the tree, sleep under the tree day just about wears us out--maybe we have to rethink that one--but it is fun for the kids--and for us!?!? In any case, it is fun to be together as a family!
Anna accidentally decorated herself!

Mel and I decorated our first gingerbread house when we were dating--we've done it ever since, and of course, it is one of the kids' favorites!


We are big adventurers--all the way to Lowe's for a Christmas tree!

FINALLY, we get to open the long-awaited package from Mimi, Bupa, and Sinter Klaas! And it was worth the wait. We found so many fabulous things inside! Thanks Mimi, Buba, and Sinter Klaas! (The package came about 10 days before Sinter Klaas, and we made the kids wait to open it--pure torture!)
New PJ's from Sinter Klaas and chocolate coins from Holland. Thys loves chocolate--he was in heaven! (Don't tell anyone he ate his entire chocolate advent calendar in one day!)
New doll from Mimi, Bupa and Sinter Klaas
Pop's new Netherlands shirt, PJ's, and my cool new Dutch food book!
Sleeping under the tree reading the new Christmas books.

And finally, our very own Smarte Piet (also known as Swarte Piet in other parts of the world).

Some More of Sophie

Don't you love the six hairs in the ponytail? (Oh, you can't see them?!?)
(The joys of trying to get a good shot of a ten-month-old.)



I am trying to make sure Sophie is not the "third child" when it comes to pictures, but I'm afraid it may be true. Here are some recent pictures of her on the move! She is little but mighty--in mind and will! She is standing, cruising, playing basketball, cooking in her little kitchen, playing with "the door." She has all-of-a-sudden discovered the toddler toys. It is so fun to watch, but it makes me sad she is growing up! I want a baby--not a toddler!

Thanksgiving Turkeys

Here are the annual photos with Grandma's turkey. I'm pretty sure they've grown a lot! If you flip back to last year November, you can compare. (Like anyone but me [and maybe Mimi] really is going to do that, right?) We spend the day at the Jorgensen's, since Thanksgiving isn't a big hit in Holland.Big eater!
It was finally Anna's turn for a turkey leg, and she loved it!

Recent Fun

The kids love the snow! We are obviously not in control of the outfits, but how can you not love T? What a kid. Crocs, Annie's gloves, PJ top. . . a character to be sure!

The kids were playing in toy containers the other day, and I remembered that I had some big boxes at school. I brought them home the next day, and here are the creations.

Sophie and Anna

I love these two together. My favorite thing in the morning is to hear Sophie squealing and laughing. When I hear it, I know Anna is awake and playing with her. The first thing Sophie does when she wakes is to stand at the end of her crib to check for Anna--even in the middle of the night. I got them matching outfits, so they wore them on Thanksgiving. I just love the pics of the two of them together. They show their little personalities!

Family Pics

My mom has a picture of each family on the wall at her house. Our picture is quite out-of-date, but I wasn't quite ready to hire a photographer to take pictures of Sophie squirming, Anna chewing gum (so she has a contorted fact in 98% of the pictures--augh!), and Thys posing, so I had my sis bring her fancy camera to Wheeler Farm and take some pics. We would have had a lot of good ones without the gum, but with the gum, we only have a few. I'll save some of the better ones for our Christmas card, but here is a sampling. I think she did a pretty good job with what we gave her to work with!